Reptile & Amphibian Forums

So I have this stubborn 8-monthish-old bearded dragon named Chewie. Not only does he ONLY eat collard greens, but he'll take only a couple bites off green that I have to hand feed to him. Then he'll decide it's time from protein. Forget it if i bring the worm container or grasshopper can around...

His protein portion everyday consists of 2-3 adult dubia roaches and 5-6 superworms. Fluckers canned grasshoppers are given as a treat since Im skeptical of their nutritional value. All feeder insects are given a gutload mix of a "roach chow" that the vendor sends with the roaches, cheap cat food, juvie bearded dragon food that Chewie never touched as a Juvie, and orange for the roaches to help with establishing the colony. Feeders as dusted with a multi vitamin/calcium with D3 mix every 2 days.

He's in a 40 gallon tank with a 10.0 reptisun tube, and a basking spot temp of 90-100 degrees of which he never seems to sit under for extended periods of time. Just usually halfway under the uvb light and the basking light. He is also always BAR when im in the room which is 24/7 since I live in a 1 person studio apartment. I also got 2 Corn snakes and 1 Ball python which are stored under his tank in secure bins so he never sees them.

Hope I gave enough history, you guys have any tips and tricks to get him to he more greens?

I also forgot to add that he has the same attitude toward fruit.

I believe flukers recently came out with a product to give a banana or strawberry scent but if your beardy won't go for fruit I doubt it would work.

Do you spray the greens and fruit with water? My beardy who is currently four years old is supposed to eat greens and fruits mainly but will only take them when sprayed with water.

Have you tried kale yet either? My beardy loves kale (when sprayed with water) over any other fruits or veges.

If that doesn't work I have hand fed stubborn lizards in the past by tapping their mouth closer to the base of the head. 9 times out of 10 the lizards (bearded dragon, blue tongue skink, and various Floridan native lizards) open their mouth. While mouth is open I just slip in a piece of food, they taste it, then realize its food and eat it. This isn't very practical long-term though just because of effort to give them enough food by this means. When your beardy gets older it may be a more prevalent feeder as well.

Also, can you be 100% certain that it doesn't eat while you are out of the room? I usually leave vegetables and fruit in for a day and a half before removing the remains. I just spray them and then walk out of the room and my beardy will eat most if not all of her food.

Well he used to chow down on them when I hand fed him in the morning, and they would wet from me washing them. But now he just doesn't eat them, cold turkey style. (at least he didn't today)

I managed to trick him a few times by wrapping his canned grasshoppers he likes so much in a piece of collard green like a burrito, but he eventually wised up and refused them by the 4th burrito.Im at my wits end here, I wonder if he just doesn't like collard green anymore, I could try kale again but he didn't like it before, and i really don't like feeding him alot of kale. He hasn't had any fruit in a while so Im going to try giving him some raspberries and grapes (only fruit he'll even nibble)

I forgot to add that when mine was little she almost never ate vegetables, just insects. Had to get her other vitamins in through supplements and bearded dragon pellet food for juveniles. Once she was a little closer to adult hood she began to be more of a vegetable fan, but still will take insects much more readily.

Another thing, how fine do you cut your vegetables and fruit? When my beady first started taking, I would cut up collard greens, romaine, and mango all as fine as I could get them. 1 thing on the mango, my beardy prefers softer mango that is more sweet than tangy/sour -- same with some of my friends' bearded dragons.